


the talent-less must always fight

by DobbyRocksYourSocks



Category: Free!, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Crossover, Drama, Fluff, Gen, Growth, Hurt/Comfort, I dunno who'll be searching for growth but GROWTH, I've done this how many times now?, Personal Growth, angst?? nah, but it's not just a mash of characters, but those guys that are first are more featured, fuck I dunno what I'm doing, sort of..., they're all gonna appear at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-30 11:52:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6422866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DobbyRocksYourSocks/pseuds/DobbyRocksYourSocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If there was one thing Ryuugazaki Rei knew how to do, it was work hard. It had yet to fail him entirely. As frustrating as it was to witness the talented rise to soaring heights, with effortless grace, he could not give up, not let them give up. They would simply have to fight harder and rise up a little less gracefully. In the end, it doesn't matter how they get there. It just matters that they got there at all. </p><p>(Rei goes to Karasuno, becomes a manager, makes some friends and has a little drama going on, on the side. It's not as dramatic as it sounds, yet. I don't know just how dramatic it's gonna get.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Swimmer Shoulders

It wasn’t often Karasuno received a new student half way through the school year, in fact, it hadn’t been done in years. It was generally expected that any student could complete their year of education before switching schools but it seemed this particular student had some sway with the education system. Whether it be money or intelligence that bent the rules so thoroughly, no one could tell.

If he had come from wealth it wouldn’t have been surprising, his upright posture as he marched into Ennoshita’s classroom that Monday morning exuded a ‘proper’ upbringing. The teacher had been mid announcements when the blue haired teen stepped into the classroom, grinding the usual to a halt while he bowed lowly to the teacher and then again to the class, introducing himself a clear and confident voice.

“It’s nice to meet you Ryuugazaki, if you would sit in the seat in the back please. Next to Ennoshita.” Ennoshita raised a hand and waved, forcing a small polite smile to go with it when the other teen look particularly lost attempting to find his new desk.

Ryuugazaki dropped into the seat gracefully, pulling the bag to sit against his knees, his back ramrod straight against the back of his chair. Obnoxiously alert for a Monday morning.

Their teacher valiantly pressed onwards with the announcements, reading from the wilting paper before him while the students he addressed were much more invested in the strange movements of their new addition. He wasn’t shifting from the multiple eyes trained on him, simply staring at the teacher as though he was explaining the mysteries of the universe and not that pork buns would no longer be sold at the canteen on Wednesdays.

As the bell sounded, the teacher shifted to grab the books he had dropped on the desk earlier that morning on arrival, “Ennoshita!” He called as he did so.

“Yes, sir?”

“Take Ryuugazaki under your wing today, please. Introduce him to your club tonight, too.” Ennoshita nodded in response and turned to face the silent boy beside him, introducing himself. Ryuugazaki merely nodded in response, offering a slightest quirk of his lips that Ennoshita supposed would be an attempt at a smile. Ennoshita sat, staring at the blue haired teen awaiting a more acceptable response.

“Ryuugazaki Rei.” He finally said, “I prefer Ryuugazaki.”

Ennoshita nodded, “Good to know. Well, I’m in the volleyball club. Do you like volleyball?”

Ryuugazaki shrugged, “I’ve never seen it before. My family is more invested in the track and field events.”

“Ah, so you’re a runner?” Again Ennoshita received a moment of silence, Ryuugazaki pursed his lips and swallowed in a way that it might have been audible if the class was quieter.

“No.” He answered eventually, “I was a swimmer.”

“That would explain the shoulders.” Ennoshita grinned and Ryuugazaki choked out a laugh, a small smile gracing his face as the teacher slid open the door and greeted the class with a cheery wave.

“I’ll wait for you outside this classroom after school.” Ennoshita whispered to Ryuugazaki as the teacher had already begun to rattle off the assignments they had coming up, things Ryuugazaki was furiously scribbling down. Ryuugazaki only responded with a small nod which could have been to him or the teacher, Ennoshita couldn’t tell.

 

* * *

 

When the final bell rung, Ennoshita waited outside the classroom he had spent much of the day in, rubbing his eyes tiredly and trying to drown out the whining voice that was building up strength against going to practice that night. He’d already waved Kinoshita and Narita on, explaining the new student situation thoroughly during lunch when they’d spotted the teen reading beneath a tree, somehow managing to avoid looking lonely.

Said new student hurriedly turned the corner, face a little flushed as he tugged his bag further up his shoulders. Ennoshita waved in his direction, catching his eyes hidden by a thick pair of bright red glasses.

“What’s got you so flustered?” Ennoshita asked as they walked together. The other teen was slightly taller than him and Ennoshita found himself having to walk a little faster than usual to keep up, despite the fact that Ryuugazaki had no idea where he was going judging by the faltering steps every time they approached a fork in the path.

“People are very…friendly here.” Ryuugazaki responded, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously while Ennoshita laughed.

“Who was it?” Ennoshita asked and Ryuugazaki shrugged, “They didn’t tell me their name.”

“Ah, sorry. What’d they look like?” Ennoshita tried again, cheeks flushing at little at his mistake.

“Um. Short, bright orange hair, really loud.” Ryuugazaki rambled off, eyes darting in every direction while they walked as though he was memorising their path.  
Ennoshita nodded, smiling fondly, “That’s Hinata. He’s on the volleyball team.”

Ryuugazaki nodded, “He mentioned it.”

“Of course he did.”

As they approached the hall, the pair could already hear the squeaking signs of drills being run inside the gym, Ukai’s gruff voice calling out commands and the thumps and squeaks of shoes against polished floorboards as the team carried them out.

The pair slipped into the gym, Ukai merely gesturing for them to join the group. Ryuugazaki paused in the doorway, conflicted as to where he should be going. Ennoshita shoved him towards the managers, waving to Kiyoko who had already started walking towards them. By the time Ennoshita had regained his breath and the freedom to look for Ryuugazaki he found the other teen immersed in conversation with Kiyoko, nodding along to her every word and smiling more than Ennoshita had seen him smile all day. Kiyoko did have that affect.

“Eh? Who’s that talking to Kiyoko?” Tanaka grumbled, arms crossed tightly, forearms bulging. His teeth were grinding audibly and Ennoshita tapped him on the head lightly to distract him.

“It’s the new student, Ryuugazaki Rei. Don’t scare him.” Ennoshita replied, prepared to grab Tanaka by the collar if he decided to rush the new student and Kinoshita prepared to do the same with Nishinoya. Unfortunately there was no such guard dog on Hinata.

The enthusiastic first year bounded towards the much taller teen, calling out cheerily, “Rei! What are you doing here? I thought you said you don’t play volleyball!”

“I don’t.” Ryuugazaki answered, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, reluctantly turning away from the conversation he was having with Yachi and Kiyoko.

Hinata tilted his head in confusion, a muted hum warning others that the boy was about to burst with a barrage of questions if Ryuugazaki didn’t continue. Thankfully, he did. “Sensei asked Ennoshita to introduce me to his club.”

This seemed to sate the questions for a moment, but the allure of the new, mysterious student was too strong, “So, what sport _do_ you play?”

Ryuugazaki let the question hang for a minute. He seemed to enjoy that, Ennoshita noted, letting suspense build. Or maybe he was just thinking. It was dramatic either way.

“I used to swim, and pole-vault.” Was Ryuugazaki’s stilted response, entirely unwilling to reveal any information about himself and only adding to the shrouded view people had already built up around him.

“Ah, the shoulders make sense now.” Daichi murmured to Suga who nodded and hid a grin.

Takeda, overhearing the short conversation, interrupted, “We have a swim team here, and they’re always open to new members. Not many people enjoy swimming competitively, it seems.”

Ryuugazaki shook his head urgently, “No! No, thank-you! That’s okay. I’m done with swimming. It’s…it’s not for me, anymore.” The silence that followed was heavy, dripping with something thick and toxic.

Tension? Perhaps.

The undeniable fact that their new addition had secrets, secrets he was clinging to with all he had? Almost certainly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So, this is so very clearly just for fun. There isn't going to be some life altering writing occurring here or anything. It's gonna be sappy, cheesy, kinda grossly cute sometimes, it's gonna be hilariously stereotypical of these types of things. I'm sorry if you expected more but I am gonna have a ball writing this, I can feel it. I've already planned out like 7 chapters? So you have at least that much going for you. 
> 
> (i'm so bad at first chapters it hurts. i'll probably say this about every chapter though. whoops. they are all probably gonna be this short cause i suck and yeah.)
> 
> I have to say though, this writing is probably not going to be great. It's really hard to write Rei in with this lot cause he's just a really odd character that usually bounces off Rin or Nagisa and now that they're not here it's SO DAMN HARD. He feels a lot out of character this chapter (I tired, so hard.) and likely will feel a little out of character the rest of the fic. It'll get better when he opens up a bit. I just want Rin and Nagisa back. 
> 
> Also! Let me know if I made any mistakes, I'll be happy to fix 'em. I'm terrible at editing my own work sometimes. Legit, I was doing a course once and my teacher was like, 'I love your writing but the amount of incorrect apostrophes is atrocious and the spelling almost made me cry.' Well not those words exactly but it's what she meant. 
> 
> Thank-you for reading! Please, let me know what you think! Oh and my tumblr is 'yam-so-sweet', check that out eyyy?


	2. not quite familiar

Ryuugazaki, through much conversation with a concerned Takeda, had convinced the older man and the team that he’d be more than content to become the Volleyball clubs, temporary, manager until the new school year. He insisted that it would prove too difficult to enter into any sports clubs at this moment as competition time was approaching and they simply didn’t have the time train and bond with a new member.

And thus, Ryuugazaki Rei was the newest member of Karasuno’s volleyball club. Albeit slightly less involved in physical activity than he desired but it was something to fill his time with, he didn’t think he could handle sitting at home, alone. With nothing but completed homework to read over.

It was unsettling how familiar his morning routine was despite having moved to another part of Japan, so far removed from Iwatobi it was at least a seven and a half hours drive away, on a good day. Sometimes, it still didn’t feel far enough away.

Through many long, gruelling conversations with his parents Rei had convinced them to allow him to move away from home and live with his elder brother who was studying at a University nearby. Both his parents and his brother were reluctant to allow the move. His brother desiring the freedom he believed was hard earned, having already lived with his brother for eighteen years and having no desire to pick up where they left off two years ago.

His parents were adamant that this sudden move would be detrimental to his studies, schools varied wildly in teaching techniques and Karasuno is known to focus less on academics than Iwatobi. Not that they’ve been directly compared but through thorough research his parents had declared that it was the case. Although Iwatobi was never on the forefront of education, they were so strict so that they only barely allowed sports clubs to thrive as it was believed sports clubs consumed too much of students time that could be invested into studying and improving the mind. Not to saw sport was demonised at Iwatobi, but more academic clubs were offered before the sports clubs were even mentioned.

At Karasuno, however, everyone was encouraged to pick up a sport. Teachers were willing to rattle off the benefits of physical exercise and teamwork to any student that paused long enough to listen.

Karasuno was different to Iwatobi in a lot of ways. The train ride was longer than it used to be, his brother had chosen to be closer to his University than the High School, but he’d decided to get off the train two stops earlier than he usually would to run and pushed himself a little harder in order to reach school on time. Reaching the school steps on time was one thing, being able to rid himself of the sweat he was often drenched in was another story. It was more often than not that Rei would find himself wandering into homeroom a few minutes late, hair only just dry enough to be acceptable and smelling very strongly of deodorant.

He’s yet to make an appearance at a morning practice, despite having more than the allocated week of ‘settling in’ Takeda had ensured him he was entitled to.

The lack of afterschool exercise was getting to him. His legs were often restless, bouncing in class and irritating his desk mates immensely. Ennoshita had kicked his calf numerous times, shooting an empty glare in his direction while their teacher was going over a maths problem Rei learned how to solve last year. The two schools weren’t as in sync as the educational system wanted the students to believe.

If it wasn’t for the afternoon practices, Rei would have filled it with sprinting circles around the soccer field, he couldn’t stand such a stationary existence. His position as manager had him throwing balls into the air at an accurate enough angle that the players could hit them or set them. Other times he was supplying water to the team members. Mostly it was spent standing with Kiyoko and Yachi, both of whom trying to explain the various happenings on the court.

“Over there, Yamaguchi is trying to perfect a jump-float serve. It’s where the ball looks like it’s going one way and then at the last second, switches and lands in an entirely different section of the court. It’s really difficult actually, I’ve never seen him do it successfully.” Kiyoko explained, pointing to the brown haired teen across the gym who looked ready to tear his hair out, the ball hitting the net for the fifth time in three minutes.

“What’s his position?” Rei asked, folding up a jersey and placing it in the container that already had a few folded jersey’s inside. He felt abnormally like a mother, like they were five minutes away from handing out sliced oranges.

“Middle Blocker, technically. He’s more of a Pinch Server now.” Kiyoko replied, dropping her own folded jersey inside the container. At Rei’s furrowed brow Kiyoko laughed, “Don’t worry. You’ll get all the terms eventually.”

“Any books you’d like to recommend?” Rei sighed, looking out at the court and observing each boy playing. The over enthusiastic Hinata was scowling up at Kageyama who was refusing to return the volleyball, lofted above his head. Kageyama seemed happier than usual, it was difficult to tell.

“Oh, I do! I can bring you some tomorrow if you like!” Yachi spoke up, “I was so lost on my first day that I went to the library and borrowed every book I could find about volleyball. There’s way more than I thought there would be.”

Kiyoko ruffled Yachi’s hair affectionately while Rei smiled down at the excitable blonde, “Thank-you, Yachi. I’d love it if I could borrow some.”

“Some, Yachi.” Kiyoko repeated, grinning at her, “Not all of them. The poor guy has to carry them home, remember.” Yachi nodded, cheeks flushing dangerously red. Rei wondered where all the blood came from, to fill her cheeks to such an extent and yet keep her from fainting.

Ukai’s whistle pierced through the rowdy team’s noise, drawing the gym to a standstill as every eye fell on the bleach blond coach. Ukai cleared his throat and waved his hand, a gesture many understood as, ‘practice’s over.’

Rei jogged to Kinoshita, helping pile the balls that littered either side of the gym into a large cart, leaving Kiyoko and Yachi to move the boxes of jerseys and collect notes from the coach. Kiyoko had insisted he should be taking down a copy too, Rei decided he could put off the mildly horrifying mess that was Coach Ukai’s notes until he could understand how a libero works.

Kinoshita waved his thanks to him as he rolled the cart over to the other side of the gym, putting a halt to the game Tanaka had developed, attempting to toss the ball from other side of the gym into the cart. He was yet to succeed. Kinoshita shoved the cart at Tanaka more violently then it would generally be considered necessary.

Stood in the middle of the gym, hands hanging limply by his side, Rei surveyed the emptying gym and decided he was probably of no more use and moved towards his bag. While he was bent over, zipping up the front pocket where he kept his phone and earbuds, a large hand landed between his shoulder blades, withdrawing a wheezy huff from Rei’s lungs.

He turned his head, Daichi was stood behind him, Sugawara at his side.

“Ah, yes?” Rei said, his voice wavering as he tried to regain the breath that was knocked from him by Daichi’s palm.

“You run home, don’t you?” Rei nodded, his knees popping as he stood to meet Daichi face to face instead of gazing up at him like a dog at his master.

“Well, you’re welcome to join us when we run as a team.” Daichi continued, Rei bit back a grin.

“Thank-you, I will definitely take you up on that.” Rei nodded, bowing at his senior who laughed.

“Just make sure you can keep up.” He teased, his voice light and friendly but his eyes were dead serious, Rei restrained from gulping. Daichi turned his back on him while Sugawara raised a hand in a wave, smiling pleasantly as always. Rei could feel the underlying danger in that smile, it felt far too similar to Kou’s.

The jog home was long and dull, his phone had died at practice thus ridding him of his music. He could catch the train from school, it was much faster and he might get home before the sun sunk beyond the horizon but he knew he wouldn’t sleep if he didn’t at least try to jog part of the way.

 

* * *

 

Shutting the door to the apartment behind him and was greeted by an all-encompassing silence. His brother was never home when he arrived back. He dumped the keys on the overcrowded bench that never failed to give him a headache and silently swept the bench clean, dumping the rubbish and shuffling the various papers so that they rested in a neater fashion than his brother’s favourite design, ‘strewn’.

As per usual, Riku appeared a half hour later, plastic bag overflowing with food and dumped it across the freshly cleaned bench. The one time Rei had tried to cook for his brother, Riku had appeared and yanked the carrot he was peeling from his hands, shooing him from the kitchen insisting that as the older sibling he had to ensure his ‘baby brother’ was eating well.

It was his subtle way of telling Rei, eating his cooking was worse than eating ashes.

Riku slid a steaming bowl, rice and meat, simple but the smell alone had Rei salivating.

“How was your day?” Riku mumbled around a mouthful of rice, Rei shrugged back, forcing himself to swallow his own mouthful before he spoke.

“Good. The captain invited me to run with them.” Riku nodded, smirking around his mouthful. He ate like he wasn’t sure when the next meal would be arriving.

“Maybe that’ll finally calm you down.” Riku paused mid-chew before choking back a laugh, “You’re just like a dog. Has to have his walkies.” Rei scowled and dug his elbow into Riku’s ribs, the elder boy jabbed back at him, the rice bowls held precariously in their hands as they fought, their laughter filling the once silent flat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ey, I'm back. It's now more Rei's side of things and that's probably where it's gonna stay for most of it. I might switch occasionally, this isn't at all serious a fic so if I switch people all of a sudden for a chapter it won't hurt it majorly. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! (And commenting, you're very lovely! It's super nice of you!! I love your comments a lot. And hey, maybe I will make you cry.)


	3. Useless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamaguchi and Rei form a slight bond, also Yachi definitely doesn't know the definition of 'some.'

“Thank-you so much for coming with me! I was so distracted after class this afternoon I completely forgot to bring them with me.” Yachi gushed, pulling book after book from beneath her desk and from her bag, still slung over the hook in the darkening classroom, and dropping each book into Rei’s arms. The pile was growing at a horrifyingly steady pace. 

“Not a problem, you’re doing me a favour.” Rei smiled, rolling his shoulders as the weight of the pile began to make itself known.

The petite blonde beamed up at him, sliding the final book into place. Rei nodded his appreciation, his own smile spread across his face. Yachi nodded in return, smile dimming mildly and panic building in her eyes. Rei couldn’t help but respond with a shallow bow, keeping the books firmly in his grasp. Yachi, eyes now wide with anxiety, bowed deeply, almost in half. 

“Yachi.” Rei called, causing the smaller girl to rise up from her bow with an awkward smile, “Thank-you. See you tomorrow.” 

Yachi nodded and turned to her bag, repacking her empty bento box and homework she had unloaded to reach the final book for Rei. She turned once more when her bag was packed and dropped the keys to the gym atop his small mountain of books.

“I really appreciate it Ryuugazaki.” Yachi called as she waved, flouncing out of the room, the swish of her skirt and hair around the corner the last glimpse of her Rei received, her farewell ringing in the empty halls. 

Empty, Karasuno echoed like a cave, hollowed out by the time and natures determination. Each footstep, slapping against the tiled floors, bounced from wall to wall, down the hall and out through one of the many open windows and doors. The breeze that slipped in wasn’t unpleasant, the day had been long and warm. The cool breeze, dancing across his flushed cheeks, was encouraged. 

As Rei approached the gym, ever the center point of noise and chaos, he heard the tell-tale signs of a volleyball, being smacked against flesh and then the thwick as it collided with the net. When Rei got closer, he could hear the faint, frustrated groans as each ball failed to successfully fulfil its course. Yellow light flooded the entrance to the gym, bright against the fading light around him. 

He poked his head around the door, forming a slight silhouette on the concrete behind him as he silently watched Yamaguchi leap into the air, wavering, and slam his open palm against the ball. They both watched it soar across the court, unfortunately, it continued to soar, right across the boundary line and hit the opposite wall. Yamaguchi huffed and clenched his fists, his entire body tensed. His eyes were screwed shut, he looked as though he was about to burst into body rattling sobs. 

He might have, if Rei hadn’t shifted slightly, dropping a book off to the side and into the bushes. The thump and rustle obnoxiously loud. Yamaguchi’s head snapped up, eyes fixed on the double doors, staring out into the now empty entranceway. Rei had slipped behind the wall, shaking, holding his breath. It seemed important that he didn’t interrupt. He didn’t know why but he knew that stepping into Yamaguchi’s field of vision right now would be the biggest mistake he could make. 

“Hello?” Yamaguchi called, his voice an echo. 

When he received no response, Yamaguchi sighed. It was silent for a moment, no sound of movement from inside the gym at all and Rei was almost tempted to peek around the door again when the sound of a ball being bounced on the polished flooring rang out around him. 

Rei breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously set down the books, settling down beside them he decided that if he was stuck here, he could at least make use of the free time. He grabbed the top book from the pile and pulled it down into his lap, and, using the leftover light from the gym, his eyes straining in the dim lighting, he began to read. 

Yamaguchi practiced long into the afternoon, stars appeared above Rei as he listened to Yamaguchi hit ball after ball, each with varying success levels. None sounding completely acceptable, to Yamaguchi at least. Rei read through half the book, granted it was small and contained relatively large writing, before Yamaguchi appeared in the doorway. 

The typically timid pinch server startled as he spotted the glasses clad teen, leaned against the brick wall, silently making his way through the weathered book in his hands. Rei looked up and smiled, dog earing the page and snapping it shut. 

“Ryuugazaki? What are you…?” Yamaguchi trailed off as Rei raised the keys and jingled them slightly in response. Yamaguchi immediately dropped into a bow, apologising profusely for keeping him so long. 

“Stop, it’s fine. If I was annoyed I would have told you to stop half an hour ago.” Rei assured Yamaguchi, who still appeared to be wracked with guilt. Rei stepped around him and pulled the doors closed, Yamaguchi having already shut off the lights, and locked the doors with a final click. 

He crouched to pick up the small pile of books when he spotted the one that had slipped originally, now deeply nestled in the bushes. Barely managing to muffle a put upon grunt, Rei bent for the book and on the way, hoped to find a solution to getting the book into his arms without letting the current ones go. 

Yamaguchi provided the solution, withdrawing the book from the shrubbery and placing it upon the pile in Rei’s arms. 

“Thanks.” Yamaguchi said and before Rei had the chance to express his own gratitude, the freckled teen had disappeared. 

Unintentionally, they developed a routine, one Riku disliked a great deal. The elder of the two now insisting on picking Rei up from the school, adamant that the trains were far too dangerous for him at that time of night. He didn’t seem to care he had travelled much later in Iwatobi far more often. 

The team would disperse at the end of practice, the nets rolled up, the balls packed away, the coach roaring down the road and their teammates splitting up in varying directions. Yamaguchi would stay behind. Rei would always have forgotten something in his classroom and take the keys from whomever had them as he passed, declaring he had to hang around a little longer and it only made sense for him to lock up. 

By the time Rei returned to the gym, Tsukishima was wandering home and Yamaguchi was slamming ball after ball down the court, attempting to clear the net and successfully manage the jump float serve. Rei would drop beside the door, only his knee visible to Yamaguchi as he crossed his legs, and read. His eyes began to ache by the second day, the dim light irrefutably not enough for his already ailing sight.

On the third day, Yamaguchi was waiting for him in the doorway, volleyball in hand. 

“Come inside.” He insisted, and Rei didn’t waste a second to disagree with him. 

Reading proved much harder with Yamaguchi’s practice occurring mere meters ahead of him. The glistening sweat, trickling down from his temples, his hair sticking out at odd angles as he dragged a hand through it in frustration. Rei found it was more enjoyable to observe Yamaguchi’s actions, the fluid movements as he lifted his arm, ball and body lofted into the air, eyes trained on the spinning mass before him. It looked as though it was in slow motion once Rei had watched it over and over again. 

As Friday’s after practice session was approaching its end, Rei closed his book and leaned against the wall, surveying the teen cautiously as Yamaguchi had remained bent over the cart of volleyballs for far too long. 

“Can I help?” Rei called out, Yamaguchi tensed, his shoulders curling up towards his ears. He turned his head so that Rei could only see the profile of his face, shadowed and masked partially by his hair. 

“I’m not sure how you could, sorry.” Yamaguchi replied, still hunched over the cart. His voice seemed as light as always, as though a laugh was on the tip of his tongue, but it shook violently, betraying him.

“You’ll get it eventually.” Rei struggled forward, pushing himself to his feet and brushing off his pants, pressing out the wrinkles that had formed over the past hour spent sat on the hard floor. 

“When’s eventually? Next week? Next year? Twenty years from now?” The freckled teen spat, dropping his hands from the cart but standing still, refusing to face Rei. “Because that’s all too late. Until I can get this serve, I’m useless to this team.” Yamaguchi choked, running a hand down his tired face as he turned to face Rei but refusing to look him in the eye. 

“You’re not useless.” Rei promised, “You’re definitely not useless. No one is useless, especially in this team.” Rei gestured to the empty gym, as though said team were grouped there around them. If they were they’d be nodding, furiously, he had no doubt Asahi would be close to tears. 

Yamaguchi smiled weakly, Rei could tell he didn’t believe him, could tell the younger teen wanted to interrupt and block his ears but wouldn’t dare be so rude to his senior. Rei snapped his mouth shut. He could also tell any further words would be wasted on Yamaguchi. He’d been working on savouring his words, reserving them for times of need and for those who were interested instead of for silences to fill, and only resulting in each syllable bouncing off their blank face.

“I’m not going to be here next week.” The teen’s voice shook as he spoke, diverting the attention, shifting the topic, “Shimada comes back tomorrow, so I’ll be training with him again.” Yamaguchi looked up, peering through his eyelashes at Rei. 

“Okay.” Rei nodded, brushing past Yamaguchi to pick up the volleyballs strewn across the court, “If you ever need help, with anything, I’m willing to give it.” Rei’s voice was calm, strong, and solid. Yamaguchi released a shuddering sigh, Rei’s calm washing over him as they worked together to restore the gym to it’s original state. 

“Thank-you.” The sincerity was apparent in the two syllable word, stressed and imposed upon him, wishing him to understand. Willing him to read his gratitude before his disbelief and doubt. Rei only smiled and nodded again, slinging his bag over his shoulder and flicking through his phone.

A text from his brother, demanding to know where he was, they’d run over time. Each word was laced with annoyance and poorly concealed concern. 

And a text from a blond boy that wasn’t currently stood by the school gates, music blasting in his ears as he linked fingers with Yamaguchi briefly before the pair wandered down the street. Silently reassured by the others presence. 

The blond on the other side of the text once held a similar effect. 

Now, his panicked, pleading, words only left a twist in Rei’s stomach and his tongue, laying dry in his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dunno if that was out of character or not for Yams. Also not sure if it was too quick. It felt too fast last night and I was gonna change it, and then I sat down and went about changing it and this all of a sudden didn't feel to fast anymore? I don't know. Also, apologies for any tense changes, I'm trying to write more in present tense but I keep slipping back to my old pal past tense cause it's just so easy and sometimes I can't tell the difference cause I suck. 
> 
> I will definitely be developing this little, thing between Rei and Yam's a lot further. They're gonna become fucking bros man. BROS. Rei's gonna look after him, it'll be great, I'm looking forward to it. (And OF COURSE yams and tsuki are together like c'mon.) God was the 'useless' thing too soon? I can't tell, it feels right and wrong and the same time this is just, guh. Whatever. It's happened, we're moving on. I am at least. 
> 
> Also, it's. I think I misused it in this chapter, not sure. Word says I did. I say I didn't. Lemme know. 
> 
> Thank-you for reading! And leaving kudos and comments. All are very much appreciated. Warms my lil heart.


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